James and Jade NorthBlack and the Illusive Rodent
by Lady Alianne
Summary: Sequel to Jade and James North and the Book of Possession. Sylvia and Sirius get married, but a few weeks later, Wormtail escapes. So the 'twins' start their third year with Dementors at Hogwarts and worrying about Wormtail is planning.
1. The Wedding

Summary: Sylvia North marries Sirius Black, becoming Sylvia Black. Sirius adopts James and Jade and they become James and Jade North-Black. Peter Pettigrew escapes from Azkaban in August and dementors are stationed at Hogwarts. The third year of Hogwarts begins for the 'twins'.

Lady Alianne and Elspeth would like to dedicate this fic to ejm12, who came up with the title (We only changed rat to rodent). Thanks also goes to Knight25, mumihp, and oxymoron8, who also came up suggestions for titles or part of one.

Disclaimer for entire fic: We do not own Harry Potter. The wonderful author J.K. Rowling does.

James straightened his dark green and silver dress robes and unsuccessfully tried to flatten his hair. The wedding was due to start in an hour and he was having second thoughts about his role as one of the best men. The wedding rehearsal had gone well the day before, but now that the actual wedding was about to take place, he wasn't sure if he'd do well. Although all he had to was walk down the aisle with Hermione and then stand near the groom while the vows were being said, he was afraid that he might mess up, What if he tripped while walking down the aisle? Or caused Hermione to trip?

There was a knock on the door and Remus poked his head in the room. "Are you ready, James? We have to go to the church." Sylvia and Sirius had decided to hold the ceremony in a wizarding church, with the reception at hall rented out for wizarding weddings.

"Okay," said James, making one last attempt to flatten his hair before following Remus.

At the church, James, Remus, and Mr. Granger were in a room with Sirius. The groom was exceptionally nervous and kept pacing around. James had read about a wedding in a book and the groom had been nervous and afraid that he wasn't good enough for the bride. Sirius was exactly like that. He hadn't been that way at the rehearsal, or at his bachelor party after. But now that the actual wedding was about to start, he was a bundle of nerves.

"Calm down, Padfoot," said Remus.

"You're not the one getting married, Moony," retorted Sirius.

"It'll be all right, Sirius," said Mr. Granger. "I remember my wedding with Emilia. I was nervous too, but then when I saw her walking down the aisle, I knew without a doubt that I couldn't give her up, even if I wasn't good enough for her. We said our vows and when the vicar pronounced us husband and wife was the happiest moment of my life."

"You'll be fine," said James. "Mum wouldn't have agreed to marry you if she thought you weren't good enough for her."

In another room, Jade, Hermione, Mrs. Granger, and Cait were with Sylvia. The bride looked radiant in her white wedding gown and lace veil. "Mum, I know it's late to ask, but you do have on 'something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue', right?" asked Jade, suddenly remembering.

Sylvia nodded. "My earrings are old. Actually, I wore them at my wedding to your father. And my wedding dress is new."

"And I've lent your mother my pearl necklace," said Mrs. Granger, smiling.

"As for something blue, my bracelet is made of sapphires," finished Sylvia.

Mrs. Granger turned to Cait. "Remember, Cait, you're to go down the aisle first and scatter the rose petals in your basket. And don't walk too fast. All right, dear?"

Cait nodded solemnly. "I won't forget, Mrs. Granger." Her phase of always asking questions had passed somewhat. While she still asked questions, she didn't ask as many, and rarely thought of more to ask when they were answered. For example, she had asked why she had to throw flower petals, but when told that it was what a flower girl did, she didn't ask why flower girls had to do that and not something else.

Minutes passed and then Sirius went to wait at his place at the altar. Music began playing on the piano and Cait walked down the aisle, scattering flower petals. Mr. and Mrs. Granger went down the aisle a few counts after that. Remus and Jade followed after that, and a few counts later were James and Hermione. After that, the Wedding March played and Sylvia walked down the aisle. She looked absolutely lovely.

James privately hoped that if he ever got married, his bride would be as beautiful and wonderful as his mother. His gaze fell on Susan Bones, who was sitting in the third row with her aunt and parents, for a second. Perhaps it was the wedding that was going on, for James was struck by how beautiful Susan was and felt his cheeks turn crimson. He quickly turned his thoughts back on his mother and Sirius, who were now about to say their vows.

Sylvia and Sirius had written their own vows, rather than repeat the standard vows of being together 'for richer or poorer, in sickness and health' and all the rest. Sylvia began first. "Sirius Orion Black, I think I must have fallen in love with you not long after you came into my life and I discovered you were innocent. Something about you reminded me of my first husband. You are a sweet, funny, and wonderful person, and I would gladly spend the rest of my life with you, no matter what happens. Nothing will part me from you except death, and even then, we will be reunited in Heaven. I love you more than life itself and I hope that I will be a wonderful life partner to you." Her voice shook at the end and there were tears in her eyes.

Sirius swallowed and then said his vows. "Sylvia Bethany Bradshaw North, you are the first woman I have truly loved in more than a sisterly or friend way. At Hogwarts, I never paid much attention to you, but eleven years in Azkaban matured me. I fell in love with you after you proved my innocence and never wanted to be with any else. You are sweet, kind, and caring, and helped me heal, along with your two children and Remus. I am honored that you would accept me as your life partner, even though you are so much better than me." He paused for a moment as his voice broke and tears came to his eyes. After he managed to compose himself somewhat, he finished, "I will never leave you except in death, and we will be reunited in Heaven. I love you more than anyone else on Earth and as we begin our life together, I hope we will be happy."

Jade, Hermione, and Mrs. Granger wiped away tears and James spotted Mrs. Weasley and Aunt Nicole crying into their handkerchiefs. James felt that the vows were touching, though he wasn't crying.

After moment of silence, the minister asked, "Sylvia Bethany Bradshaw North, do you take Sirius Orion Black to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," responded Sylvia firmly and in a clear voice.

"Sirius Orion Black, do you take Sylvia Bethany Bradshaw North to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," answered Sirius quietly.

"Rings, please." Remus pulled out two gold wedding bands from his pocker and handed them to the bride and groom. Sirius slipped one on Sylvia's ring finger and Sylvia slipped the other on Sirius's.

The minister continued, "By the power vested in me, I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Sirius lifted the front part of the veil and kissed Sylvia. Fred and George wolf-whistled. Several others clapped. James felt slightly disgusted at having to watch, but he was also happy.

The reception was held half an hour later at the nearby hall. James supposed that it was decorated very nicely, though as boy, he didn't really care too much about flower arrangements and things like that. He sat at a table with his sister and friends and enjoyed the food and drink. The adults made toasts. James and Jade even made one themselves.

The two stood up after Remus had made a toast and said, "We hope that our mother and new father have a wonderful life. We know they're happy together and we're happy for them too." There were claps and then everyone drank the toast.

The food was followed by dancing. Sirius and Sylvia stepped out onto the dance floor and began tbe first dance. Other couples soon joined them. James first asked Jade, because he felt most comfortable asking her, but she just gave him a look. "I'm not dancing the first dance with my brother. Go ask Hermione or Susan. Or Ginny or Luna." With that, she grabbed Neville's hand and dragged him to the dance floor.

James swallowed then worked up the courage to ask Susan. Fortunately, his mother had taught him how to dance, so he didn't make a fool of himself or stepped on Susan's toes. After that, he danced with Hermione, Ginny, and Luna. Finally he danced with his mother, while Jade danced with Sirius.

After several dances, Sirius and Sylvia cut the wedding cake. After the cake, Sylvia stood on a chair and asked all unmarried women and girls to gather behind her. She tossed her bouquet of white roses over her shoulder. There was some shoving among the unmarried females, but seconds later, Nymphadora Tonks, daughter of Sirius's cousin, caught the bouquet. That meant she would be the next bride. Sirius then threw the garter to the group of unmarried men and boys and Remus caught it. James turned to Ron (who was standing next to him), and asked in a whisper, "Does this mean that Remus and Tonks will marry each other?"

Ron shrugged. "Who knows? It could happen."

After the wedding, Sirius did a spell that basically meant he adopted James and Jade. The 'twins' then decided to go by the last name of "North-Black", because they wanted to take their new father's last name. The two then went to Grimmauld Place with their relatives to look after them. Sylvia and Sirius then took an International Portkey to Paris, France, the first of their stops on their honeymoon. (They planned to spend three weeks on the continent, spending a week each in France, Austria, and Italy and a fourth week in China.)

Authors' Note: The wedding took place on July 5th. Sirius and Sylvia Black will be back in August, a couple of days after Wormtail escapes. Lady Alianne wrote the wedding vow for Sirius and Elspeth wrote the one for Sylvia. We don't know who great or romantic-sounding they are, because this is our first attempt at writing vows. We hope you like it.


	2. Escaped Prisoner

An owl flew in the window and left a letter and parcel. Aunt Nicole picked them up and looked at the address. After seeing that it was for James and Jade, she carefully put them away in a drawer. When the 'twins' came home from their vist at the Weasley house, she handed them the letter and parcel, which was from their parents. It was the first letter that Sylvia and Sirius had sent since their honeymoon and would probably be full of descriptions of what France was like.

Jade opened the envelope and laid the letter out on the table. She and James read it. It was full of descriptions about Paris and the French countryside and the wonderful week their parents had spent. There was also a roll of parchment filled with information on wizarding history in France that could be used in the History of Magic essay on witch burnings. The parcel contained a thick envelope of photographs, a box of French pastries, some stamps for Hermione's stamp collection, postcards for the 'twins' scrapbooks, and a book about the French wizards. Half the photos were in the French countryside and the other half were of Versailles, the Louvre, the Effiel Tower, and other places of interest in Paris.

The next day, they shared the pastries with their friends and cousins. Hermione was absolutely delighted with the stamps and asked to borrow the book when the 'twins' were done with it. She also made a copy of the information on witch burnings, which she later worked into her essay.

"I wish I was in France," said Jade wistfully. "I want to go to the Effiel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral and see the painting of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre and visit the castles and sample the various French cheeses."

"Yeah, France is a nice country to visit," agreed James.

Another week passed, followed by another letter and parcel. This one had been delivered from Italy. Sylvia and Sirius had visited Rome, Venice, Pisa, and Tuscany. The parcel had Italian stamps and postcards, along with photos, several recipes, a book on Italian artists, a model of the Colosseum, and a model of a gondola with a miniature gondolier. One of the photos showed Siirus falling out of a gondola. The kids all had a good laugh when they saw it. Hermione was jealous when she saw the photos of the places in Rome and wished she were there to see them.

The third week brought a third letter and parcel from Austria. Sylvia and Sirius had gone to Vienna and Salzburg. James and Jade were interested, for Salzburg was the setting for _The Sound of Music_, one of their favorite movies. When Neville, Ron, Ginny, and Susan asked about the movie, James found the video in the video cabinet and showed it to them. They liked the movie as well, and Ginny and Susan sang the songs "Do Re Mi" and "My Favorite Things" every so often for the next two days.

On the twenty-fifth was the birthday party for Jade and James, held at Grimmauld Place. A letter arrived from their parents, wishing them happy birthday and that they were leaving for China. They added that the two each received fifty Galleons spending money as presents for the moment, but planned to give them other presents when they got back from China. James and Jade were surprised with Hagrid's present. He had gotten them each a book titled _The Monster Book of Monsters_. The books tried to bite and had to be belted shut. The two exchanged looks, wondering what Hagrid meant by writing that the books would be useful for their third year.

On the thirtieth Neville had his birthday party. Sirius and Sylvia sent him a figurine of a monkey, which was his zodiac sign according to the Chinese calender, as well a bamboo plant and a box of Chinese sweets.

On August 2nd, the wizarding world was in an uproar as Peter Pettigrew escaped from Azkaban. Nobody was quite sure how he had escaped at first. However, it turned out the spell that was supposed to prevent Animagus transformations had never been cast of the cell. Apparently the two wizards who were responsible for setting the spell thought the other had cast it.

On the fifth, Sirius and Sylvia returned from their honeymoon. They were extremely worried about Wormtail's escape. They did a spell that would notify them if James or Jade were in pain or in trouble of any sort (besides school-related ones, like being in trouble for not doing homework). A mirror was spelled so that it would show the location of where the 'twins' were if there was alert of one of them in trouble. After some discussion, the Hogsmeade permission forms were signed. At first, Sylvia and Sirius were reluctant to do so, but they didn't want to deprive their kids of Hogsmeade visits. Besides Wormtail didn't have any idea as to whom James really was.

After, Sirius and Sylvia handed their kids their presents. Jade got a jade pendant on a gold chain, a skirt bought in Paris, and a book on Chinese mythology. James got the book _Journey to the West_, a translation of a famous Chinese book, a model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and a replica of an ancient Chinese sword.

Since Lockhart was not a good Defense teacher, especially with Wormtail on the loose, he was sacked and Professor Dumbledore asked Remus to take over the Defense Against Dark Arts post. Remus arranged to quit his job at the Grangers' dental clinic and accepted the post.

On the twenty-third was the trip to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Everyone was in a state of worry over Pettigrew's escape and security was tightened. The one good part of the trip for James was when he stopped at Quality Quidditch Supplies. A new broom called the Firebolt was out and it was the fastest one so far, outstripping the Nimbus Two Thousand Ones. He stared longingly at the broom and wished he could have it. The card said the price was given upon request, but he didn't ask. He just gazed at the broom until Jade reminded him that he still had to get his Arithmancy and Divination textbooks.

After stopping at Flourish and Blotts, Hermione said that she was going to buy an owl. However, when she entered Magical Menagerie, she decided on buying a ginger cat named Crookshanks instead. The shop owner said that Crookshanks had been in the store for ages. James could see why, for the cat had bandy legs, a squashed face, and was missing a piece from his ear. When Hermione cooed that Crookshanks was gorgeous, James stifled a snort and thought that it was a matter of opinion. Jade's cat Mulan got along well with Crookshanks, and the two cats could be found together for the next week.

Sylvia started feeling sick in the mornings. Sirius was concerned and told her to see a Healer. She replied, "It isn't necessary, Sirius. I know what's going on."

James looked puzzled and whispered to Jade, "Why is Mum refusing to see a Healer?"

Jade gave him a look. "How dense are you, James? Mum obviously has morning sickness." When James still looked blank, she sighed and said, "Remember the movie _Yours, Mine, and Ours_? And the doctor asking about morning sickness when he was giving the oldest Beardsley kid a physical?"

A look of comprehension appeared on his face. "Oh. Then that means Mum is -" He trailed off and turned scarlet. "I guess Mum and Sirius were busy during their honeymoon when they weren't out seeing the sights. Ew! I don't want to think about it."

"You didn't act like this when you read about Alanna and Jon in the book _In the Hand of the Goddess_."

"That's because Tamora Pierce didn't write any such scene out! She merely hinted and implied it. And I really don't want to think about Mum and Sirius doing 'it'. It was embarrassing and disgusting enough when Sirius gave me 'the talk' last year. And he didn't even tell me everything, because I already knew about some of it from books."

"Fine," said Jade. "But we're still going to have a little brother or sister in about eight months, James."

"That would be nice," replied James. "But let's not say anything until Mum decides to tell us." Jade agreed.


	3. The Dementor

On September first was the departure for Hogwarts. Remus joined the kids, for he had decided to ride the Hogwarts Express to get to his job, rather than Apparating to Hogsmeade and then walking up to the castle. Part of this was due to the fact that it had been a full moon the day before and he was feeling tired. Luckily, the Wolfsbane Potion had been invented a couple of years ago, so his transformations went much better. He was able to keep his mind and curled up in the basment of Grimmauld Place as a harmless wolf, with Sirius in his Animagus form for company.

Because Remus was so tired, he fell asleep almost as soon as he sat down in a compartment. He didn't even wake up when the witch with the food trolley arrived. Hermione was about to wake him, but James reminded her that Remus was very tired due to the events of last night. In the end, Jade bought some extra chocolate and pumpkin pasties to give to Remus when he woke up, and the witch said she'd be up front with the conductor.

As the train moved north, the weather was no longer so nice. Dark clouds gathered and eventually it started raining. The kids ignored the weather and began talking about Hogsmeade. Ron was more interested in the sweets sold at Honeydukes, while Hermione talked about the history of Hogsmeade.

Malfoy and his two goons showed up a couple of hours later. Malfoy looked very sour. "What did you think you were doing, tricking my father into setting the house-elf Dobby free, North?" he demanded.

"Actually, it's North-Black," corrected Jade coolly. "As for Dobby, why shouldn't he be free and come work for my family? After all, my stepfather freed Kreacher and he went to work for your family. So why don't you see it as a trade of house-elves?"

"And your stepfather!" continued Malfoy angrily. "He's going to be sorry for marrying a Mudblood and taking you and your Mudblood brother as his stepchildren!"

Just then, Remus shifted in his seat and grunted. "Who's that?" asked Malfoy, surprised.

"Remus Lupin, the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher," responded James.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed, but he wasn't about to continue his tirade in front of a teacher. With a scowl, he turned and left, Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

"Ugh, I hate him," snapped James. "I wish could hex-"

"Shut up!" hissed Hermione, gesturing at Remus. "Remus, I mean Professor Lupin, is our teacher now, and he has the authority to punish us if we misbehave!"

The rain thickened as the train sped yet further north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering grey, which gradually darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, the wind roared, but still, Remus slept.

"We must be nearly there," said Ron, leaning forward to look past Remus at the now completely black window.

The words had hardly left him when the train started to slow down.

"Brilliant," said Ron, getting up and walking carefully past Professor Lupin to try and see outside. "I'm starving, I want to get to the feast..."

"We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch.

"So why're we stopping?"

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.

James, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments.

The train came to a stop with a jolt and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind James.

"Ouch!" gasped Susan. "Ron Weasley, that was my foot!"

James felt his way back to his seat.

"D'you think we've broken down?"

There was a squeaking sound, and James saw the dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard..."

Jade whipped out her wand and said, "_Lumos_!" Instantly a glow of light came out the tip of her wand. At the moment, the compartment door opened and Ginny, Luna, Mari, and Matt came in.

"D'you have any idea as to what's going on?" asked Matt. "Luna said that gremlins were responsible, but I don't think that's likely."

"We don't know, either," said Neville.

"Quiet!" said a hoarse voice suddenly. Remus had appeared to have woken up at last. James could hear movements in his corner. None of them spoke.

There was a soft, crackling noise and a shivering light filled the compartment. Remus appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired grey face, but his eyes looked alert and wary.

"Stay where you are," he said, in the same hoarse voice, and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.

But the door slid slowly open before Remus could reach it. Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted downwards, and what he saw made his stomach contract.

There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, greyish, slimy-looking and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water...

It was visible only for a split second. As though the creature beneath the cloak sensed James's gaze, the hand was suddenly withdrawn into the folds of the black material.

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it was trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.

And an intense cold swept over them all. James felt his own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was inside his very heart...

James's eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn't see. He was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downwards, the roaring growing louder...

And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but he couldn't... a thick white fog was swirling around him, inside him-

"James! James! Are you all right?"

Someone was slapping his face.

"W-what?"

James opened his eyes. There were lanterns above him, and the floor was shaking - the Hogwarts Express was moving again and the lights had come back on. He seemed to have slid out of his seat onto the floor.

Jade and Hermione were kneeling next to him, and above them he could see Neville, Ron, and Remus watching. James felt very sick; when he put up his hand to push his glasses back on, he felt cold sweat on his face.

Jade and Hermione heaved him back onto his seat.

"Are you OK?" asked Ron nervously.

"Yeah," said James, looking quickly towards the door. The hooded creature had vanished. "What happened? Where's that - that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed," said Ron, more nervously still.

James looked round the bright compartment. The others looked back at him, looking very pale.

"But I heard screaming -"

A loud snap made them all jump. Remus was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.

"Here," he said to James, handing him a particularly large piece. "Eat it. It'll help."

James took the chocolate but didn't eat it.

"What was that thing?" he asked Remus.

"A Dementor," said Remus, who was now giving chocolate to everybody else. "One of the Dementors of Azkaban."

James then recalled what he had read about Dementors and nodded. Remus crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.

"Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me..."

He strolled past James and disappeared into the corridor.

"Are you sure you're all right, Jay?" asked Jade, using the name she had called her brother when she was two and watching him anxiously.

"I don't get it... what happened?" said James, wiping more sweat off his face.

"Well - that thing - the Dementor - stood there and looked around (I mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face) - and you - you -"

"I though you were having a fit or something," said Ron, who still looked scared. "You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching-"

"And Remus, I mean Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked towards the Dementor, and pulled out his wand," said Hermione. "And he said 'None of us is hiding Peter Pettigrew under our cloaks. Go.' But the Dementor didn't move, so Remus muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned round and sort of glided away..."

"It was horrible," said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did you feel how cold it went when it came in?"

"I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again..."

"I remembered the time when my _ojiisan_ died," said Mari quietly. "I mean my grandfather."

"I remembered my mum dying," said Luna, looking sad.

"But didn't any of you - fall off your seats?" said James awkwardly.

"No," said Ron, looking anxiously at James again.

James didn't understand. He felt weak and shivery, as though he was recovering from a bad bout of flu; he also felt the beginnings of shame. Why had he gone to pieces like that, when no one else had?

Remus had come back. He paused as he entered and said, with a small smile, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know..."

James took a bite and to his great surprise felt warmth spread suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Remus gently. "Are you all right, James?"

"Fine," he muttered, embarrassed.

"It's not a big deal that you fainted, James," said Remus kindly. "You have horrors in your life that nobody else has experienced." He glanced at Mari and Matt, then said in whisper that only James could hear, "Like what happened to your parents. Subconciously you have an idea of what happened and the Dementor brought the memories up."

James nodded in understanding, no longer so embarrassed. After all, he had those dreams in first year about his parents dying, so it was logical that he had some vague memories of what happened and a Dementor would bring it up.

They didn't talk much during the remainder of the journey. At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get out; owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat.

Hagrid met the first years, while the older students climbed into carriages. Jade held her brother's hand tightly in a gsture of comfort. Ron, Hermione, Susan, and Neville gave James sideway looks, as though frightened that he might collapse again.

In the Entrance Hall, Professor McGonagall asked James and Hermione to come with her. She explained that Professor Lupin had sent an owl saying that James had taken ill on the train.

Before hecould reply, Madam Pomfrey, the matron, came bustling in. James felt himself going red in the face. It was bad enough that he'd passed out, or whatever he had done, without everyone making all this fuss.

"I'm fine," he said. "I don't need anything -"

"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Madam Pomfrey, ignoring this and bending down to stare closely at him. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?"

"It was a Dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall.

They exchanged a dark look and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.

"Setting Dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing James's hair back and feeling his forehead. "He won't be the first one who collapses. Yes, he's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate-"

"I'm not delicate!" said Harry crossly.

"Of course you're not," said Madam Pomfrey absent-mindedly, now taking his pulse.

"What does he need?" said Professor McGonagall crisply. "Bed rest? Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"

"I'm fine!" exclaimed James, jumping up.

"Well, he should have some chocolate, at the very least," said Madam Pomfrey, who was now trying to peer into his eyes.

"I've already had some," said James. "Re-, er, Professor Lupin gave me some. He gave it to all of us."

"Did he, now?" said Madam Pomfrey approvingly. "So we've finally got a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

"Are you sure you feel all right, North?" said Professor McGonagall sharply.

"_Yes_," said James.

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her timetable, then we can go down to the feast together."

James went back into the corridor with Madam Pomfrey, who left for the hospital wing, muttering to herself.

He only had to wait a few minutes; then Hermione emerged, looking very happy about something, followed by Professor McGonagall, and the three of them made their way back down the marble staircase to the Great Hall.

It was a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long house tables was lined with students, their faces glimmering by the light of thousands of candles, which were floating over the tables in mid-air. Professor Flitwick, who was a tiny little wizard with a shock of white hair, was carrying an ancient hat and a three-legged stool out of the Hall.

"Oh," said Hermione softly, "we've missed the Sorting."

The two sat between Neville and Jade, who had saved them seats. Neville asked why McGonagall had wanted to see them. James was about to explain, but then Professor Dumbledore stood up. He informed everyone that Dementors would be stationed at the entrances to the school and that they would no be fooled by tricks or disguises.

"It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the Prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs foul of the Dementors."

Percy, who was the new Head Boy, puffed out his chest again and stared round impressively.

Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the Hall, and nobody moved or made a sound. Then he went on to introduce Remus Lupin as the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher.

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic, applause. Only James, Jade, and their friends clapped hard. Professor Snape gave Remus a look of complete loathing. The 'twins' knew why, for Sirius and Remus had told them. The Marauders, or rather James Potter and Sirius, had delighted in tormenting Snape when they had been students at Hogwarts. Of course, Snape retaliated and sometimes started things, so he wasn't completely innocent. However, what the Marauders did hadn't been right. Remus and Wormtail might not have taken part most of the time, but Wormtail always egged James Potter and Sirius on, and Remus had rarely put a stop to it. So obviously Snape wouldn't be happy with Remus teaching. Snape was going to be even angrier when he found out that Sirius was going to take over whenever Remus was out during the full moon.

When the lukewarm applause had died away, Professor Dumbledore continued that Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, had retired, but Hagrid would be taking over. After a stunned look, James, Jade, and their friends joined in the applause, which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. James leaned forward to see Hagrid who was ruby red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

"We should've known!" Ron roared, pounding the table. "Who else would have sent us a biting book?"

The annoucements ended then and the feast began. When it ended, the five Gryffindors, along with Susan, went to the staff table congratulate Hagrid. He

"All down ter you six," said Hagrid, wiping his shining face on his napkin as he looked up at them. "Can' believe it... great man, Dumbledore... came straight down to me hut after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough... it's what I always wanted..."

Overcome with emotion, he buried his face in his napkin, and Professor McGonagall shooed them away.

Susan went to join the Hufflepuffs and the rest followed the other Gryffindors. When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Percy told everyone the password (Fortuna Major). The Gryffindors clambered through the portrait hole and went up their respective staircases to their dorms. James climbed the spiral stairs with no thought in his head except how glad he was to be back and how wonderful it was to have Remus and Hagrid for teachers. When he reached the dorm room, he promptly collapsed on his four-poster.


	4. Talons and Tea Leaves

James woke up the next morning, tangled up in a quilt and finding Neville shaking him. He groaned, remembering the dream. The experience with the Dementor had caused him to have the nightmare about Voldemort killing his parents. However, he also had another nightmare, where Voldemort had regained power and forced James to watch as his mother, Jade, his friends, Sirius, Remus, the Drs. Grangers, his adopted cousins, and adopted aunt and uncle were tortured and then slowly killed.

"You were screaming and begging someone to stop it," said Neville worriedly.

The other boys appeared next to Neville and nodded in agreement. "Are you all right, James?" asked Dean.

"It was just a nightmare," said James. "I'll get over it."

"Okay," said Seamus. "I hope you feel better." He and Dean got dressed and left to brush their teeth and wash up.

Ron and Neville helped James untangle himself and then asked about his nightmare.

"I had two. The first was the one about Voldemort killing my parents. The second one was about Voldemort returning to power and forcing me to watch as he tortured and then slowly killed all the people close to me."

Ron winced and Neville gasped. "That's horrible!" the two exclaimed simultaneously.

"I'll get over," said James in a shaky voice. "But maybe you guys should just stop being my-"

"Stop that!" interrupted Neville. "We're remaining your friends, no matter what, James."

Ron added, "Moldyshorts would target us anyway, because we're against him. So don't get any ideas that he wouldn't target us if we weren't your friends, James."

"And we'd do our best not to get captured by You-Know-Who so he can kill us and make you suffer," said Neville. "Now, do your best to get over the nightmare and get dressed. Some breakfast will make you feel better."

At breakfast, James didn't tell the girls about his nightmare, and Ron and Neville didn't mention it either. The Weasley twins handed them the third-year timetables. James thanked them and then helped himself to sausages and fried tomatoes.

Hermione was examining her new timetable.

"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today," she said happily.

"Hermione," said Ron, frowning as he looked over her shoulder, "they've messed up your timetable. Look - they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough _time_."

"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

"But look," said Ron, laughing, "see this morning? Nine o'clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And-" Ron leaned closer to the timetable, disbelieving, "_look_ - underneath that, Arithmancy, _nine o'clock_. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's _that_ good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?"

"Don't be silly," said Hermione shortly. "Of course I won't be in three classes at once."

"Well, then -"

"Pass the marmalade," said Hermione.

"But -"

"Oh, Ron, what's it to you if my timetable's a bit full?" Hermione snapped. "I've told you, I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

Just then, Hagrid entered the Great Hall. He was wearing his long moleskin overcoat and was absent-mindedly swinging a dead polecat from one enormous hand.

"All righ'?" he said eagerly, pausing on the way to the staff table. "Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five gettin' everythin' ready... hope it's OK... me, a teacher ... hones'ly ..."

He grinned broadly at them and headed off to the staff table, still swinging the polecat.

"Wonder what he's been getting ready?" said Ron, a note of anxiety in his voice.

"It can't be anything too dangerous," answered Jade calmly. "Now hurry up and finish your breakfast. You guys have Divination and I have Arithmancy in a few minutes."

James hastily finished his breakfast and then he, Ron, Neville, and Hermione set off in search for the Divination classroom, which was in the North Tower. Two years at Hogwarts hadn't taught them everything about the castle, and they had never been inside the North Tower before. In the end, they had to ask a painting of a mad knight named Sir Cadogan to help them.

Jade found the Arithmancy room with no problem. She took a seat in the front of the room and was very surprised when Hermione appeared and took the seat next to her. "What are you doing here?" demanded Jade. "You just left for Divination!"

"But I have Arithmancy as well," said Hermione, showing her schedule.

Jade's eyes narrowed. "You can't be in two places at the same time, Hermione. Unless..." She trailed off. "I'm going to the library and do some research to confirm my theory, and then we are going to talk, Hermione."

"Don't tell anyone!" exclaimed Hermione. "Professor McGonagall told me not to tell anyone."

"Don't worry," responded Jade. "I've never told anyone your secrets before, haven't I?" She opened her textbook and the two didn't say anything more, as Professor Vector had begun the lesson.

The class was very interesting, and Jade enjoyed it. She had been very good at math in primary school, and as Arithmancy involved numbers and logic, she felt comfortable with the class.

When the class ended, Hermione said that it had been much better than Divination. "I think Professor Trelawney's not a good teacher. All that rubbish about the stuff in tea leaves. She said that she saw a falcon in James's cup, which means that he has a deadly enemy. Well, of course he does! You-Know-Who's after him! Finally she said that she saw a Grim."

"The Grim? As in the omen of death? How did James react to that?" asked Jade. Even though she wasn't taking Divination, she had read James's textbook and had an idea about the subject.

"He laughed and said that it wasn't the Grim, it was just his stepfather in his animagus form," replied Hermione, chuckling. "When Professor Trelawney stared at him, he explained that Sirius Black could turn into a large black dog, which could be mistaken for a Grim. Then James added that it probably meant that he was going to see Sirius sometime soon."

Jade chuckled as well. "Typical. Of course James would answer like that. So how did Professor Trelawney react to that?"

"She looked grumpy and dismissed the class," responded Hermione. "And told Neville that he'd be late next time."

"Well, if Divination is rubbish, you should drop it," suggested Jade.

"It's only the first class, Jade. Maybe the class will be better. Excuse me, I have Muggle Studies."

Jade gave Hermione a look. "But Trans- oh, I see." She continued on her way, knowing that Hermione must have some device that enabled her to go back in time and therefore do all three classes at once.

In Transfiguration, the other students (besides Hermione, James, Ron, and Neville), were rather quiet. What Professor Trelawney had said about the Grim being the omen of death and in James's tea leaves had affected them. Despite James laughing it off and saying that it was just Sirius in Animagus form, they looked at him funny.

When Professor McGonagall heard, she informed the class that Trelawney predicted the death of one student each year and none of them had died yet. She agreed with James when he said that it was just showing Sirius in Animagus form and went on, more calmly, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney..." She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You look in excellent health to me, North, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

Hermione and Jade exchanged looks and chuckled, while James, Ron, and Neville laughed. However, Lavender didn't seem convinced, for she whispered, "What about Neville's cup?"

After Neville had explained, Jade snorted and said, "Oh come on. Neville, would you have broken a cup if Trelawbey hadn't said that you would? And besides, you do look like you're a bit clumsy. Only a blind person wouldn't be able to tell that you're the type of person to break things. No offense, Neville. I know you're not really as clumsy as you look."

At lunchtime, Sirius and Sylvia turned up. "Remus wrote about what happened on the Hogwarts Express," explained Sylvia. "Are you sure you're fine, James?"

"_Yes_," said James impatiently. "I don't need you fussing over me, Mum."

Sylvia merely chuckled. "Acting like a typical teenager, are you? Well, I won't bother you any more, James. I'm going back to work. Sirius is going to stay for awhile, though. He wants to see how Remus is doing and look in one of your classes." She bent down and kissed him on the cheek, then turned and did the same with Jade.

After his mum had left, James made a face and wiped off the kiss with a napkin. "Honestly, I'm thirteen!" he burst out. "I don't want Mum kissing me in front of everyone like I'm five-years old again!"

"What's the matter?" asked Fred, smirking. "Is ickle Jamie embarrassed to have his mummy kiss him?"

"Shut up!" growled James.

George joined in. "Didn't cutey wittle Jamie like having his mummy kiss him?"

"If you don't shut up about it, I'll hex you!" snapped James, not liking the teasing one bit.

The twins sighed and subsided. Ron and Neville were still smirking about it and even Hermione and Jade were grinning. "Come on, it wasn't that bad," said Jade. "Mum was just showing that she loved us and was concerned about us, Jay."

"Don't call me that," retorted James. "You're no longer three years old. And of course _you_ wouldn't have any problems with Mum kissing you. You're a girl."

"What does being a girl have to do with it?" demanded Jade.

"It's just that girls like stuff such as kissing and other cute things," said James.

"Oh really?" asked Jade, her voice dangerously low. "And since when have I liked cute things?"

James realized his mistake. "I didn't mean you personally like cute stuff! I meant that most girls like it. And you did get all excited over the wedding between Mum and Sirius."

"Okay, but that wasn't an everyday occurence. Have I been interested in cute stuff normally, not on special occasions?"

"Well, no," admitted James.

Sirius, who had joined them, laughed. "You're never going to win this, James. You hardly ever win a disagreement with a girl when the girl in question is your older sister, girlfriend, or wife. Lily always won the arguments she had with James."

James sighed. "Okay, okay. You win, Jade." He shut up and turned his attention back to lunch.

After lunch they went outside for their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Sirius joined them, because he wanted to see what Hagrid's class was like. When they reached Hagrid's hut, James groaned. He had spotted Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, which meant that this class was with the Slytherins. He wished it was with the Hufflepuffs, so Susan would be there.

Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!" As he walked, he looked questioningly at Sirius, who explained that he just wanted to watch the class.

He led them around the edge of the Forbidden Forest and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Everyone gather round the fence here!" he called. "That's it - make sure yeh can see. Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books-"

"How?" said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.

"Eh?" said Hagrid.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out, too; some, like James, had belted their books shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with bullclips.

"Hasn'- hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.

The class all shook their heads.

"Yeh've got ter _stroke_ 'em," said Hagrid as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.

He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have _stroked_ them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I... I thought they were funny," said Hagrid uncertainly to Hermione.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" said Malfoy. "Really witty, giving us a book that tries to rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," said James quietly.

Hagrid was looking downcast and James wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, "so... so yeh've got yer books an'... an'... now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on..."

He strode away from them into the Forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Malfoy loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him-"

"Shut up, Malfoy," James repeated.

"Oh, what are you going to do?" taunted Malfoy. "Have your mummy come here and kiss you to make you feel better?"

James was feeling very annoyed towards his mother, but didn't flush or show any sign. He just snapped, "Well, at least my mother cares enough about me to come here and check that I'm all right! Would _your_ mother do that, Malfoy?"

"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, interrupting them, pointing towards the opposite side of the paddock.

Trotting towards them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures James had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-coloured beaks and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly-looking. Each of the had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.

"Hippogriffs!" exclaimed Jade, looking surprised. "We're doing hippogriffs? Wow!"

"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures towards the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

Harry could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you had got over the first shock of seeing something that was half-horse, half-bird, you started to appreciate the Hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different colour; stormy grey, bronze, a pinking roan, gleaming chestnut and inky black.

"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh want to come a bit nearer..."

No one seemed to want to. James and his friends, however, approached the fence cautiously.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle weren't listening; they were talking in an undertone and James had a nasty feeling they were plotting how best to disrupt the lesson.

"Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk towards him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed to touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt."

"Right- who wants ter go first?"

Most of the class backed further away in answer. Even James, Ron, Hermione, and Neville had misgivings. Jade was the only one that didn't seem to be nervous. Then again, she liked animals, and most of them responded well to her. The Hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this.

"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look.

"I'll do it," said Jade. There was an intake of breath from behind her. Jade ignored the others and she climbed over the paddock fence.

"Good girl, Jade!" roared Hagrid. "Right then- let's see how you get on with Buckbeak."

He untied one of the chains, pulled the grey Hippogriff away from his fellows and slipped off his leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Malfoy's eyes were narrowed maliciously.

"Easy, now, Jade," said Hagrid quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink- Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much..."

Jade's eyes immediately began to water, but she didn't shut them.

Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head, and was staring at Jade with one fierce orange eye.

"Tha's it," said Hagrid. "Tha's it, Jade... now, bow..."

Jade did as she was told. She gave a short bow and then looked up.

The Hippogriff was still staring haughtily at her. It didn't move.

"Ah," said Hagrid, sounding worried. "Right - back away, now, Jade, easy does it-"

But then, to Jade's enormous surprise, the Hippogriff suddenly bent his scaly front knees, and sank into what was an unmistakable bow.

"Well done, Jade!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right - yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Jade moved slowly towards the Hippogriff and reached out towards him. She patted the beak several times and the Hippogriff closed his eyes lazily, as though enjoying it. "You're such a beautiful hippogriff," she cooed. Buckbeak seemed even more pleased with the praise.

The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed.

"Righ' then, Jade," said Hagrid, "I reckon he migh' let yeh ride him!"

Jade blinked, not expecting this. She was used to a broomstick; but she wasn't sure a Hippogriff would be quite the same.

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," said Hagrid, "an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that..."

Jade put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted herself onto his back. Buckbeak stood up. Jade wasn't sure where to hold on; everything in front of her was covered in feathers.

"Go on, then!" roared Hagrid, slapping the Hippogriff's hindquarters.

Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Jade; she just had time to seize the Hippogriff around the neck before she was soaring upwards.

It was nothing like a broomstick, and Jade knew which one she preferred; the Hippogriff's wings were beating uncomfortably on either side of her, catching her under his legs and making her feel she was about to be thrown off; the glossy feathers slipped under her fingers and she didn't dare get a stronger grip; instead of the smooth action of her Nimbus Two Thousand, she now felt herself rocking backwards and forwards as the hindquarters of the Hippogriff rose and fell with his wings.

Buckbeak flew her once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground; this was the bit Jade had been dreading; she leant back as the smooth neck lowered, feeling she was going to slip off over the beak; then she felt a heavy thud as the four ill-assorted feet hit the ground, and just managed to hold on and push herself straight agains.

"Good work, Jade!" roared Hagrid, as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle cheered. "OK, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened by Jade's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Neville ran repeatedly backwards from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. However, it bent for James, to his surprise.

Ron and Hermione practiced on the chestnut, while Jade watched. Sirius came over and congratulated her on her success with Buckbeak.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

"This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, loud enough for Jade to hear him. "I knew it must have been, if North could do it... I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the Hippogriff. "Are you, you ugly great brute?"

It happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming all over his robes.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled, as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me- gotta get him outta here-"

Hermione ran to open the gate while Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, James saw that there was a long, deep gash in Malfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope towards the castle.

Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. The Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.

"They should sack him straight away!" said Pansy Parkinson, who was in tears.

"It was Malfoy's fault," snapped Dean Thomas. Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles threateningly.

They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted Entrance Hall.

"I'm going to see if he's OK!" said Pansy, and they all watched her run up the marble staircase.

The Slytherins continued muttering angrily until Sirius said firmly, "I was there and it wasn't Hagrid's fault. Hagrid had said not to insult hippogriffs, but Draco Malfoy wasn't paying attention and insulted Buckbeak anyway. So Mr. Malfoy is the one at fault."

There were no more grumblings, but the Slytherins didn't look happy as they headed away in the direction of their dungeon common room.

Sirius sighed. "Well, I'm going to visit Remus now, guys. Don't worry about Hagrid. I was a witness, and can give evidence that Malfoy was the one at fault." He sighed again and then walked away.

"Do you think Malfoy'll be all right?" said Hermione nervously.

The others nodded.

"'Course he will, Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second," said James, who had had far worse injuries mended magically by the matron.

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it?" said Ron, looking worried. "Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him..."

Susan came up to them. "What happened?" she asked. "I saw Hagrid carrying Malfoy to the Hospital Wing."

Neville explained and Susan looked angry. "That Draco Malfoy! I can't believe that he'd ruin Hagrid's first class like that. Good thing your stepfather was there, Jade, and can give evidence that Hagrid wasn't at fault if Mr. Malfoy accuses him."

During dinner, Sirius came over to the Gryffindor table. "I've told Hagrid not to worry, that I can give evidence that Malfoy was at fault, not Buckbeak or Hagrid. Now I have to go home. I told Sylvia I'd be back for dinner." He bid James, Jade, and their friends good-bye and headed for Dumbledore's office so he could Floo home.


	5. Boggart in the Wardrobe

Malfoy didn't appear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double Potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in James's opinion, as though he was the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.

"How is it, Draco?" simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt much?"

"Yeah," said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But James saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away.

"Settle down, settle down," said Professor Snape idly.

James scowled, because he knew perfectly well that if he had walked into class late, Snape would have taken points off or given a detention. Malfoy sat down at the table James and Jade were working at. When Malfoy said that he needed help because of his arm, Snape ordered Jade to cut up Malfoy's roots and for James to skin the Shrivelfig.

James got his task over with as quickly as possible and flung the Shrivelfig across the table without speaking. Jade glared at Malfoy and then chopped the daisy roots into approximately equal pieces. She wanted to chop them roughly so that they were different sizes, but she knew that Malfoy would likely report it to Snape, who would then force her to switch roots.

"Seen your old pal Hagrid lately?" Malfoy asked them quietly, taking the roots.

"None of your business," snapped James, without looking up.

"I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer," said Malfoy in a tone of mock sorrow. "Father's not very happy about my injury-"

"Well, my stepfather was there, and he saw everything that happened," hissed Jade. "It was your own bloody fault that you got slashed by Buckbeak. If you had paid attention to Hagrid, you would have heard that hippogriffs don't like to be insulted. Sirius heard you insult Buckbeak and will be able to give evidence on it. So don't get all high-and-mighty and think you can get Hagrid sacked or anything, Draco Malfoy!"

Malfoy stared at her open-mouthed. James set down his knife and looked directly at the other boy. "This pretending you're still seriously injured won't get Hagrid sacked, you know. Like Jade said, Sirius was there and can give evidence as to what really happened. So stop being a spoiled, lazy boy and make your potion."

Malfoy had no comeback and so settled for glaring at the 'twins.' The rest of class passed uneventfully, other than Seamus telling James that there had been a sighting of Peter Pettigrew by a Muggle.

During lunch, Jade grabbed a sandwich and then went to the library. After doing some research, she confirmed her theory that Hermione was using a time turner to get to all her classes. She shook her head as she put the books away. She would never be able to deal with the pressure, as well as having an hour or two added to her age almost every day.

After lunch, she headed for Defence Against Dark Arts. She wondered what kind of class Remus would be teaching. It would be a big improvement over Lockhart's classes, of course.

Professor Lupin wasn't there when the students arrived, but he walked in just as the bell rang. He greeted everyone, then told the students to put their books away, for it would be a practical lesson that day. They exchanged looks, for they had never had a practical lesson before, unless the you counted the disastrous class last year where Lockhart had brought pixies.

They then headed for the staff room. On the way there,l they came across Peeves, who was stuffing gum in the keyhole of a cupboard. When he saw Remus, he began singing "Loony, loopy, Lupin." Remus continued smiling and pleasantly told Peeves to stop what he was doing, for Filch wouldn't be able to access his brooms otherwise. When Peeves merely blew a raspberry, Remus sighed and told the class to watch carefully, for it was a useful little spell. He then pointed his wand at the keyhole and said, "_Waddiwasi_!" The gum shot out of the keyhole and into Peeve's nose. The poltergeist then zoomed away, cursing.

"Cool, sir!" exclaimed Dean Thomas, looking impressed. The rest of the class looked impressed as well.

They reached the staff room, where Professor Snape was sitting and reading the newspaper. When the class filed in, he got up to leave, but before he did so, told Remus that Neville was in the class and was not proficent at all.

Remus raised a brow. "I've met Neville before, and he appeared to be a capable wizard, Severus," he said mildly. "In fact, Neville will be first to help me in this operation and I'm sure he will do admirably."

Snape snorted and left, while Neville turned pink. Remus then turned to the class and informed them that a boggart was hiding in the wardrobe. Hermione answered the question as to what boggarts were, earning five points for Gryffindor. James then answered a question as to the advantage the class had with the boggart, earning another five points. After being told the spell, Neville was called forward. When asked what his worst fear was, he said it was Peter Pettigrew. Remus nodded and whispered in Neville's ear. Neville stared up at Remus for several seconds, then nodded.

The wardrobe door was opened and a second later, Peter Pettigrew as he was last seen came out. Neville's arm shook, but he managed to shout, "_R-Riddikulus_!" The boggart Wormtail stopped and instantly was dressed in the clothes of Neville's grandmother, complete with the red handbag and hat. The class burst into laughter as Neville stepped away and Parvati took her turn.

As the others took their turns, James wondered what his worst fear would be. He at first thought that it might be Voldemort, but with a body and returned to full powers. Then he remembered the Dementors and knew that they were more frightening than Voldemort. However, he had no idea as to how to make a Dementor funny. He finally decided that when he took his turn, he would turn the boggart-Dementor into a dog in a clown outfit.

When Jade took her turn, the boggart turned into a masked and cloaked figure, with a wand raised. The figures of all her friends and loved ones appeared, chained to each other. She watched, horrified, as the the masked figure pointed his wand at the figures of her friends and loved ones. There was a burst of light, and then the figures started trashing about and their mouths were open in silent screams of pain. "_R-R-Rid-Riddikulus_!" Jade stammered. All that happened was green light shot out of the wand of the masked figure and then the figures of her loved ones and friends slumped, dead. That was when Remus stepped in.

"_Riddikulus_!" he said firmly. The boggart turned into a silvery orb in the sky and Remus turned it into a cockroach. After that, Neville was asked to finish it off. This time he approached the boggart with more confidence and everyone forced laughter at the view of Pettigrew in a lacy dress before it disappeared. All those who had faced the boggart were awarded five points, and Neville got ten because he had done it twice. Homework, which was reading the chapter on boggarts and summarising it, was assigned, and then class was dismissed. Remus asked Jade to stay back, and her friends stayed with her.

"Are you all right, Jade?" asked Remus gently. He patted her on the arm and then made a cup of tea.

Jade burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. James hugged her. "Jade, it's all right. None of us have any intention of being tortured and killed by a Death Eater or other evil wizard."

Neville reached out and took Jade's hand. "We'll make sure your worst fear doesn't come true, Jade." A protective look was on his face. Jade flung herself into his arms and she cried on his shoulder. Neville patted her back and gently stroked her hair.

James stared at this tableau with an odd expression on his face. Jade normally turned to her mother for comfort. If she didn't, or her mother was unavailable, Jade turned to either James or Hermione. But now she had turned to Neville. And he was giving comfort and looked very protective. James wondered about it for a second, then dismissed it. They were only thirteen, after all. And even if Jade and Neville decided to date, it wasn't any business of his. James knew his sister wouldn't appreciate him interfering in her love life, and anyway, Neville was a great guy and wouldn't do anything to hurt Jade.

Finally Jade composed herself, her cheeks scarlet. "Sorry, Neville. I didn't meant to just fall apart like that in your arms." She accepted the cup of tea Remus gave her and lowered her eyes, blushing even more furiously.

"It's all right," said Neville. "I didn't mind comforting you." He then leaned forward and kissed Jade on the cheek. James choked as Neville pulled back, his face crimson, and Jade stared at him.

"Do you like me?" she demanded. "And I mean in more than just a platonic friend way?"

Poor Neville turned even more red and mumbled something that James couldn't hear. Ron and Hermione didn't catch what was said, either. Jade apparently heard, however, for she set down the cup of tea and returned Neville's kiss, on the cheek. "When did you realize?" she asked.

"The wedding," Neville mumbled. This time the others heard him. "You were so beautiful, and I kept thinking what a great person you were."

Jade smiled. "I realized at the wedding, too. I didn't say anything, because of our age and the fact that you might not feel the same way."

"I never thought you'd feel the same way either," said Neville. "I might have gotten better with magic and stuff, but I'm still not a very good wizard and -"

"Hush," said Jade, placing a finger on his lips. "You are a great wizard. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And you're sweet and kind and everything, or I wouldn't want to date you." She then turned to James. "And don't you dare try to act like the protective brother and interfere in my love life, James, or I'll hex you. Ginny taught me the Bat-Bogey Hex."

"Don't worry," said James. "I know Neville would never do anything to hurt you. But if you do hurt her, Neville, I will go after you, unless it was an accident."

"I won't," said Neville.

"So you're better now, Jade?" asked Remus, an amused smile on his face.

"Yes, Professor Lupin," answered Jade. "Er, could you not mention any of this to Mum and Sirius, please? Sirius might start acting like the protective father, and Mum might not approve of my finding a boyfriend at the age of thirteen."

"I won't," promised Remus. "Well, you're feeling better, you can leave." He took the cup from Jade and saw the five kids out.

They found Susan and told her what happened during Defence class, as well as the fact that Jade and Neville had discovered that they liked each other in a more than platonic friends way. Susan looked delighted and congratulated them. She then looked at James, but he didn't see it. Hermione and Jade caught the look, however, and exchanged looks.

After awhile, Jade and Neville left to discuss things, but rejoined their friends at dinner.

Authors' Note: We hope you don't mind Jade and Neville being together. We had this planned from the very beginning, though we hadn't expected to have them get together this early. We originally thought they'd get together in fourth year, what with the Yule Ball and all. But while writing this chapter, it somehow fit for Jade and Neville to realize their feeling for each other. Ron and Hermione won't end up early, though. Ron can be a bit thick, so he won't realize his feelings for Hermione are more than just platonic until at least fifth year. Hermione will realize in fourth year, and know that Ron feels the smae way because of his jealously during the Yule Ball, but won't say so. (Thought they'll still have that row.) As for James, he will figure things out in fourth year. We had originally planned for James and Luna to end up together, but with Susan in the scene, we're not sure. Susan is a redhead (or at least the actress playing her in the first book was), and it seems that Potter men usually end up woith redheads. However, both of us shipped Harry/Luna until the sixth book. (For the record, both of us have anothing against Harry/Ginny and didn't mind it happening in the books. We just thought Harry/Luna seemed more compatible.) Anyway, please leave in a review or PM if you want James to end up with Luna or Susan. He's not going to end up Ginny in this fic series. Ginny will end up with either Matt, the boy Luna and Mari are friends with, or Jade's cousin Ryan.


	6. Chapter 6

Authors' Note: Sorry that it's been awhile since we updated. We had a writer's block for the past couple of weeks.

In no time at all Defence Against Dark Arts became most people's favorite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin. "Look at him," Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Remus passed. "He looks like a good hex would finish him off."

But no one else cared that Professor Lupin sometimes appeared tired and drawn. His next few lessons were just as interesting as the first. After Boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblin-like creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed, in the dungeons of castles and the portholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon those who had got lost. From Red Caps they moved on to Kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds.

The news of Jade's boggart spread around the school and she had to deal with whispers and sympathetic or pitying looks from the other students. She ignored it all, having decided to not dwell on her first fear, and focused on her schoolwork, Quidditch, family, friends, and her new relationship with Neville.

Care of Magical Creatures wasn't as fun after the action-packed first class. Hagrid was rather subdued and seemed to have lost his nerve, spending class after class on Flobberworms, which were the most boring creatures in existance. In fact, they had been given the lowest rating, one X, which meant they were very boring and harmless. James tried to talk to Hagrid about it, without any luck. Though neither Hagrid nor Buckbeak was in trouble because Sirius had given evidence that it was Malfoy's faul when Lucius Malfoy tried to press charges, Hagrid was afraid another incident would happen if he didn't do Flobberworms.

James really didn't like Divination, for Professor Trelawney predicted his death again. She'd reported seeing the Grim in James's tea leaves again during second class. James completely lost his temper and shouted, "You idiotic old fraud, that's not the Grim! I told you last class, my stepfather can turn into a big black dog that resembles a Grim! It probably means I'll be seeing him soon, because that's what happened after you supposedly saw the grim the first class!"

Professor Trelawney blinked at him in surprise. It was obvious no student had ever shouted at her before. "Dear boy, you don't understand," she protested. "I -"

"I understand completely!" he interrupted rather loudly. "You're just a stupid old fraud who might have a shred of real talent buried somewhere. I really don't appreciate you predicting my death or seeing the Grim in my tea leaves. If it really was the Grim, I'd have died ages ago, simply because I've seen my stepfather in his Animagus form dozens of times!"

"But my dear boy," protested Trelawney feebly. "You don't -"

"SHUT UP!" screamed James. "I hate this stupid class!" He picked up his teacup and threw it across the room, where it hit a wall and smashed to several pieces. "You said that Neville would be late to this class, but he wasn't, was he? So it's obvious that you don't have this 'Inner Eye'. In any case, I hate this useless class and I'm leaving!"

With that, he picked up his bag and stalked out of the room, leaving his textbook on the table. He found Professor McGonagall and arranged with her to drop Divination and replace it with Arithmancy.

That evening, it appeared that most of the Hogwarts population had heard about James's outburst in Divination. Several students, who also thought Trelawney was a fraud, congratulated him. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who seemed to worship Trelawney and believed what she said, were rather cool to James during dinner and obviously didn't approve. While Jade was glad that he had switched to Arithmancy, she was annoyed that he had lost his temper and scolded him.

On Halloween was the first Hogsmeade visit. Unfortunately, James fainted as he passed the Dementors. In the end, he couldn't go to Hogsmeade because of the effect of the Dementors. His friends offered to stay behind and keep him company, but he said firmly, "Just because I can't go doesn't mean you guys should miss out on the fun. So please just go to Hogsmeade and enjoy yourselves. I'll be fine. I'll visit Rem- er Professor Lupin or something. Just make sure to get me some sweets. And Jade, stop at Zonko's and get some stuff there." He handed her five Galleons.

After everyone was gone, James went to visit Remus and found him setting up a tank with a grindylow in it. "Hello, James. Why aren't you at Hogsmeade with Jade and your friends?"

"The Dementors," responded James glumly. "I fainted again and McGonagall decided that I shouldn't go to Hogsmeade if that was the effect the Dementors had on me every time I got near them."

Remus looked sympathetic. "It's not your fault that the Dementors affect you so badly, James. Besides, eventually the Ministry will send them back to guard Azkaban and you won't have to deal with them anymore."

"That's not much help," said James. "While the Dementors are around, I'm not going to be able to go to Hogsmade, unless I use one of the secret passages that leads out of Hogwarts."

"Don't look at me to tell you," said Remus sternly. "With Peter Pettigrew on the loose, it's too dangerous for you to go around using secret passages. Furthermore, your mother would not like me telling you where they are so you can use them."

James sighed and took a sip of the tea Remus had poured for him. "Well, you knew a spell that drove away the Dementors on the train, Rem- I mean Professor Lupin. The, er, Patronus Charm, right? So couldn't you teach me it?"

"I suppose," said Remus. "But it's very advanced magic. NEWT-level, actually. You might not master it as quickly as you like. But if you really wish to learn it, then I will teach you. But not right away, since the full moon will be in a week. I'll teach you after."

"Okay," said James, looking happier. He finished his tea and continued chatting with Remus until Snape came in.

"I was just showing James the grindylow," explained Remus when Snape looked slightly surprised to see James there.

Snape nodded curtly and set a smoking goblet on the desk, saying, "You should take that right away, Lupin. I have a cauldronful should you require more."

"Thank you, Severus," said Remus mildly, picking up the goblet. Snape nodded again and strode out the office.

James blinked, then realized what was going on. "You're taking the Wolfsbane Potion, right? But why is Snape -?"

"It's Professor Snape," interrupted Remus. "As I am a staff member, it is obvious that he would be the one to brew the potion for me. I can hardly ask your mother or Sirius to make the Wolfsbane Potion when I am no longer living near them."

"Oh," said James. Ever since he had gotten to know Remus, his mother and Sirius brewed the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus every month so that he would keep his mind when he transformed. It was logical that Snape would take over the duty when Remus was now teaching at Hogwarts.

Remus downed the potion, making a face as he drank and shuddering slightly when he set the goblet down. "Not very pleasant tasting. Well, what were we talking about?"

"My nightmare," answered James. "What if it comes true?"

"I won't say that it will never happen," said Remus slowly. "But you shouldn't dwell on it. Your adopted parents, sister, friends, the Dr. Grangers, and myself will do our best to not end up in such a situation. Besides, there is little you can do about it, because we all firmly oppose Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and their ideals. Even if we didn't have any connection to you, we would still be targeted by Voldemort because we're against him. Marlene McKinnon and the Prewett brothers had no connection to you, but they were still killed because they opposed Voldemort and were fighting him."

"Logically, I know that," replied James. "But my heart doesn't really accept it."

"Your friends made the choice to be your friends," said Remus firmly. "Sylvia made the decision to adopt you rather than sending you to an orphanage. Jade decided that she wanted you to remain her brother when she learned the truth. Sirius made the choice to be friends with James and Lily and become your godfather and later adoptive father. I made the choice to be friends with James and Lily and be your 'god-wolf'. You didn't force us to any of it, we all made the choice ourselves. If your nightmare came true, only our choices and Voldemort can be blamed. You are not guilty of anything."

"I guess," said James, finishing his second cup of tea. "Oh, I haven't finished my Potions essay yet! I'll go do it. See you later, Remus."

Late that afternoon, the others came back from Hogsmeade. Susan, Ron, and Neville had gotten James a variety of sweets, Jade had a bag with prank items from Zonko's Joke Shop, and Hermione had a bottle of butterbeer. "Here you go," said Jade as the five of them handed over the things. James drank the butterbeer, sampled some of the sweets, and stowed the joke items in his trunk to use later.

The Halloween feast was splendid and the food delicious. James thoroughly enjoyed himself and didn't even mind Malfoy calling to him, "Hey, North, the Dementors send their love!"

At Quidditch practice on Thursday, Wood informed the team that they would be playing Hufflepuff. Supposedly Malfoy's arm was still not well enough to play in a match, so Flint had rescheduled things. James looked sour, knowing perfectly well that Slytherin just didn't want to play in the bad weather they'd be having so far, especially as they had a good chance of losing.

The next day, Friday, Sirius showed up to take over for Remus. When the students entered for Defence Against Dark Arts, most of them looked confused. "Excuse me," said Parvati Patil. "But why are you here, Mr. Black?"

"Professor Lupin is under the weather, so I will be taking over teaching his classes until he is better," said Sirius pleasantly. "And please don't call me Mr. Black. It makes me feel old. And there's no need to call me Professor, either. Sirius will do."

The class sat down and Sirius took roll call. Then he asked, "So, as Remus didn't leave his study plan, what are you guys supposed to be doing today?"

Hermione raised her hand. "We're due to start hinkypunks, Sirius."

"Thank you, Hermione," said Sirius. "Unfortunately, I don't have a hinkypunk on hand, so I'll leave that for Remus to cover. Instead, I would like you all to pair up with someone and work on Disarming. The spell is '_Expelliarmus_'."

James paired up with Neville, Hermione with Jade, and Ron with Dean Thomas. After a couple of tries, James had no problem disarming Neville. On the other hand, Neville wasn't quite able to at first, until James happened to be looking around to see how the others were doing. Thus distracted, Neville was able to disarm James and looked delighted at being able to do so. Feeling more confident, Neville was able to disarm James twice more, and not when James was distracted.

At the end of class, Sirius awarded ten points each to all those that had been able to disarm their partner and didn't assign any homework. The students filed out, having enjoyed the class though Remus had been absent.


	7. Chapter 7

Authors' Note: Sorry that it has been a very long time since we've updated. We've been very busy. We're also sorry about the fact that the first four fics in the Marauders and Lily Read the Harry Potter books have been deleted. The site admins apparently decided that the fics did not meet standards and removed them. Unfortunately, the fics are not saved, since the chapters were all deleted after they were uploaded. We never realized that the admins would remove them. So the fics will not be reposted, unless we feel like and have the time to rewrite them.

The day of the Quidditch match turned out to be rather stormy and James eventually had to do the spell that repelled water on his glasses in order to be able to see clearly. It still wasn't that much of a help, for the weather conditions were playing havoc on his flying. Being small and light, the wind kept trying to blow him off course. As the Hufflepuff seeker, Cedric Diggory, was much bigger, he didn't have this problem and flew better.

Finally James spotted the Snitch and went streaking after it as best as he could. That was when he felt the air getting cold. Dimly a woman's voice could be heard screaming and pleading. Just as he reached his hand out to close around the Snitch, the voice became louder. Through the fog, he decided that perhaps he should go help the woman. As his fingers started to close on the Snitch, the world suddenly went black.

When his eyes opened, he realized that he was in the Hospital Wing. Jade, his friends, and the rest of the team, except Wood, were gathered around him. "Thank goodness you're all right!" exclaimed Jade in relief. "Those dratted Dementors! I can't believe they decided to show up at the match! Dumbledore was furious."

Hermione nodded. "He did a spell that slowed your fall from your broom, James, and another spell that drove the Dementors away. Really, we've never seen Dumbledore so angry."

"You looked like you almost didn't survive the fall," said George soberly.

"What about the match?" asked James. "The last thing I remember was my hand starting to grab the Snitch and someone screaming. And I was planning to go help the person screaming."

"Er, you didn't fully grab the Snitch," replied Angelina. "Cedric Diggory caught it after you'd fallen. He didn't know and once he found out, he wanted a rematch. But even Wood said Hufflepuff won fair and square. Gryffindor was ahead by ninety points, though, so we didn't lose too badly."

"But we still lost," said James heavily.

"Look, no one blames you, James," said Alicia. "Besides, we only lost by sixty points and since Hufflepuff will probably lose the match against Slytherin, we'll still be in the running for the Cup."

"Okay," said James, though he still wasn't happy with the news. He'd never lost a match before and though it was almost certain that he would have to lose one eventually, it wasn't at all nice to have it finally happen. At least he didn't lose to Slytherin. Malfoy would never let him live it down if that happened. "Where's Wood?"

"In the showers," answered Katie.

"I think he wants to drown himself," added Fred.

James sat up. "I have to- "

"You have to rest," interrupted Susan firmly. "Oliver Wood will be able to handle the loss of a match. Besides, it's not as if this is his last chance to win the Quidditch Cup. Gryffindor won the Cup in your first year, after all."

He sighed and lay back again. Susan was right, though he wondered how she felt over everything that happened. As a friend, she was obviously concerned for him and would sympathize over his failing to catch the Snitch before he fell. On the other hand, she was in Hufflepuff, and would be happy that they won the match.

"What happened to my broom?" he asked instead. "Did someone get it?"

Looks were exchanged. "What?" he asked, alarmed. "Did it disappear."

"Worse than that," said Neville tentatively. "When the Nimbus flew away, it hit -"

"The Whomping Willow," Ron finished for him.

James groaned. He knew what happened when something hit the Whomping Willow, thanks to what Sirius and Remus, er Professor Lupin, had told him.

Jade slowly upturned a bag, the remains of the Nimbus Two Thousand One falling in a small pile on the bed. "We're sorry, James. But Mum and Sirius will get the Gryffindor team a replacement and you can use your Nimbus Two Thousand until then."

Madam Pomfrey came over then and ordered everyone out, saying that James needed to rest. As the others left, he put the remains of the broom back in the bag and later told Madam Pomfrey not to throw it out. He wanted to keep it for sentimental reasons, even though the broom technically wasn't his, but belonged to the Gryffindor team.

The rest of the weekend, he was stuck in the Hospital Wing, though he was allowed vistors on Sunday. Sirius and his mother came by. His mother fussed over him, while Sirius was furious over what the Dementors had done. In fact, he had gotten into a one-sided shouting match with Dumbledore over it before seeing James. However, Dumbledore had no authority to remove the Dementors, and when Sirius had finally stopped his ranting, calmly informed him of the fact and to please take it up with the Ministry.

"I will!" Sirius had shouted and then stormed out of the office and up to the Hospital Wing.

Luna dropped by, expressing her hope that James was better and making a comment on how some weird creature or other must have provoked the Dementors into appearing at the match. Matt and Mari rolled their eyes at that, but didn't say anything. Ginny handed James a get-well card she made, a slight blush on her face as she did so. He thanked her for the card.

Wood turned up with the rest of team and in a hollow voice told James that he didn't blame him in the slightest for the loss. Cedric Diggory also showed up, apoligizing for not realizing that James had fallen off his broom. He tried again to insist on a rematch, but James agreed with Wood, that Hufflepuff had won fair and square, and told Cedric so. Diggory made a feeble attempt to protest, but James was firm, and so after apologizing again, he nodded and left.

When Lupin resumed teaching after he'd recovered from the full moon, he made arrangements to privately teach James, Jade, and any of their friends that were interested the Patronus Charm. The first lesson would start two days after the end of the Christmas holidays. James couldn't wait for the lesson, because he wanted to be able to fight the Dementors the next time he ran into them, instead of fainting.


End file.
